Remembering Peter Dean

Partners gather at Gallery Oldham for the announcement of Oldham as Greater Manchester Town of Culture 2026-27. Cllr Peter Dean is pictured with Peshkar Chair Abdul Malik Ahad to his right, alongside Andy Burnham, then Mayor of Greater Manchester and now Prime Minister.

We were deeply saddened to hear of the death of Peter Dean, former Councillor and Mayor of Oldham, and until earlier this year Chair of the Oldham Cultural Partnership Board.

Peter’s record of public service is remarkable by any measure. First elected for Saddleworth West in 1976, he went on to represent Werneth, Coldhurst, Failsworth East and Waterhead, served as Mayor in 1997-98, and sat in the Council’s cabinet, only stepping down ahead of the 2026 local elections. Before all that he was a firefighter, and he also worked alongside the late Michael Meacher MP. Fifty years of looking after Oldham. Few people have known the borough, street by street and ward by ward, the way Peter did.

Those of us who sat around the Cultural Partnership Board table with him saw that knowledge put to work for culture. Peter chaired the Board through a pivotal stretch, as Oldham’s cultural partners set their sights on Greater Manchester Town of Culture. When the Board weighed up whether to chase ambitious funding, his instinct was to back it – go forward, start the conversations, find the people willing to put something in. That spirit of getting on with it is exactly what a cultural board needs.

The photo above captures a proud day. Peter stands alongside fellow partners, including our Chair, Abdul Malik Ahad, and Andy Burnham – then Mayor of Greater Manchester, now Prime Minister – at Gallery Oldham, as Oldham was announced Greater Manchester Town of Culture 2026-27. It was a moment years in the making, and it was fitting that Peter was there to see it.

When Peter stepped down as Chair in February, our Executive Director, Jim Johnson, took on the role. We inherit a Board, and a Town of Culture year, that carries his fingerprints. We intend to honour that by making the year count.

Oldham MP Jim McMahon summed Peter up as “one of the nicest people you could have met.” Across the political spectrum, tributes have spoken of his warmth, his decency and his devotion to the town. We’d add our own: thank you, Peter.

Our thoughts are with his wife Sue, his family, and everyone who had the privilege of working alongside him.

Funeral arrangements

Shared at the request of Peter’s family:

A service will be held at Oldham Parish Church, Rock Street, OL1 3UH, at 10am on Thursday 15 October.

This will be followed by a private committal at Oldham Crematorium for family and close friends only.

Donations in Peter’s memory can be made to The Fire Fighters Charity via https://peter-dean-1942-2026.muchloved.com